Puzzle of Elements
by TheSealer
Summary: Babylon 5 x Avatar Korra crossover. RE-UPLOADED! The major races - Humans, Minbari, Centauri, Narns, Dilgar, Orieni and Vorlons - can bend the elements. Inspired by 'A Tragedy of Elements', by Avelera.
1. Prologue

**Puzzle of Elements**

Underlined_ – _Narrator (Dellen)

**Bold** – Author Notes

"_Italic" – _thoughts

_Italic and centered_ – transitions

**This was inspired in **_**A Tragedy of Elements**_**, by **_**Avelera**_**. I advise you to read it, first. The major races can bend the elements: Humans bend air; Minbari bend water; Narns bend earth/metal and Centauri bend fire. The Vorlons are all Energybenders. They can remove/restore or concede bendings to other people. **

**The Centauri can also lightningbend, and the Minbari can bloodbend, but none of those races has discovered those powers yet. Then I remembered that the Dilgar and Orieni are also major races. So the Dilgar are bloodbenders, but not waterbenders. And Orieni are lightningbenders, but not firebenders. **

**Also, all airbenders are part of the Air Corps (based on the Psi Corps). The Air Corps is part of Sector Security. The Securities who are not air-benders, are trained as chi-blokers. So, this is resumed…**

**Humans – Airbending**

**Narns – Earthbending/Metalbending**

**Minbari – Waterbending (they have not discovered Bloodbending yet)**

**Centauri – Firebenders (they have not discovered Lightningbending yet)**

**Vorlons – Energybenders (nobody knows they have this ability)**

**Dilgar – Bloodbenders (they can't waterbend)**

**Orieni – Lightningbenders (they can't firebend)**

**Delenn, Londo and G'Kar are benders. I don't know if Lennier should be one, too. Maybe not.**

**Lyta Alexander and Talia Winters are airbenders. Talia is already part of Security and Lyta is to become Chief of the Air Unit Security.**

**Susan is a latent airbender. She can sense airbending around her and sometimes she's able to airbend, but it takes great determination.**

**Garibaldi and Zack are chi-blockers. Jack, the guy who backstabbed Garibaldi is not in this fict.**

**Chapter 1: Prologue**

Before my time on this station began, the League of Non-Bender Worlds and the 7 major races – Earth Alliance, Minbari Federation, Narn Regime, Centauri Republic, Vorlon Empire, Orieni Imperium and Dilgar Imperium – lived in peace. But that all changed when the Dilgar Invasion broke out and they sought slavery, terror and death throughout the Non-Bender Worlds.

Using their bloodbending, the Dilgar mercilessly slaughtered entire races and made experiments on their prisoners to improve their bendings. And the worst of the lot was Jha'dur, a cunning Warmaster and bloodbender of rare skill. Eventually, the Earth Alliance and my government, the Minbari Federation, intervened in the war.

The Earth Alliance aided the League in pushing the Dilgar back to their system, which, along with the Dilgar sun going nova, resulted in the extermination of the entire race and the end of bloodbending.

With this, the Earth Alliance became a major power. But eventually, pride turned into arrogant, which resulted in the war between my people and the humans. At the very eve of our victory, we surrendered, avoiding the extermination of another major race and airbending.

The humans vowed to build a station where members of any race would be welcome, to maintain peace and prevent another war. This is a story of a place for Bender and Non-benders of a thousand worlds. This is the story of Babylon 5…

**I hope you like it! Read and Review, please.**


	2. Water - Minbari

**Puzzle of Elements**

**I'm re-uploading this fict. This will probably never make it into a parody, but at least, it will give an insight of this AU and hopefully inspire other people to continue it.**

**Chapter 2: Water – Minbari**

Minbar was a dry and cold but beautiful world. Stalagmites of ice rose high above the ground, dozens of meters into the air like, like towers of crystalized water. There were only two things that could make such wonders on Minbar: nature itself and waterbenders.

Ever since the beginning of time, certain Minbari of every caste were born with the gift of shaping and moving water at their will. They were respected as the children of water, the element of life and calm. Everything built by Minbari was centered on water. Whether were the cities that appeared like shinning ice towers or the space ships shaped like blue fish.

But not all benders were alike. As there are three castes – worker, warrior, religious – the benders of each used their gifts for the calling of their hearts alone. The workers built many things based on water, the priests used water to study and meditate on any matter and the warrior since the beginning of time bent water into spears and swords.

This was the dark side of Minbar; like in a sea, the tide may be calm, but it can also be violent. Civil wars marked the history of the Minbari race. Until, a thousand years ago, came the Shadow War. The Minbari could do nothing, their waterbending unable to help them fighting a race that surpassed them on anything.

That was until came Valen and the Great Battlestation. Accompanied by two Vorlons, Valen was a 'Minbari not born of Minbari'. And this was true enough, for he could bend water and air!

Founder of the Grey Council and the Anla'shock, Valen commanded with his strength and his wisdom, guiding Minbari to victory against the enemy, who were driven back to the gates of Z'ha'dum. Before he went away, he prophesized the returned of the darkness. Right before he stepped on his ship to depart Minbar forever, he turned back and said to the Nine:

"_The clouds go where the wind take them. They make rain when it's time; they block the sun when it's time. To defeat the darkness in 1000 years to come, you must be like the clouds. Go where the future takes you, but remember you must shape it on your way. You must make rain when it's time, you must block the sun when it's time."_

"_But the clouds belong to both water and air. To be like them, you can't simply continue to be water. You must accept the other half of our soul. You must accept the gift of air."_

And with that, he departed.

A thousand years past and no other Minbari was born with the gift of airbending. As a matter of fact, less and less waterbenders were been born, in the last 200 years, as if their bending were been absorbed elsewhere.

All the centuries of peace and isolationism made the Federation narrow-minded and ignorant towards the prophecy of Valen. Because of that, when the Earth-Minbari was came, nobody questioned if the Humans, who could bend the air around them, were not the half they were looking for. Only at the gates of Earth, did the Grey Council discovered that when they found a non-bender Human who possessed bending mark of Valen.


	3. Earth & Metal - Narn

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Chapter 3: Earth/Metal – Narn**

Narn was from the beginning a green Eden and its people were made to labor peacefully on it. Agriculture was what fed the young and innocent Narn Regime. And who's best to live from the earth than earthbenders?

Without damaging the world they loved so much, earthbenders used their gift to serve the people. The art of commanding the ground under their feet was appreciated and never abused. Been called Children of G'Lan, earthbenders were highly respected.

They manipulated the earth around them, removing the rocks so plants could grow without obstacles. They mixed the earth with its nutrients, making vegetable gardens, fields and greenhouses worth to feed the hungry. To the homeless they built shelters of solid rock. To the pilgrims and travelers, they cleared roads. And when earthquakes were imminent, they joined their forces to call upon the flesh of Narn itself and pacified it.

A simple people, a simple but happy way of life. And so it lasted until 1000 years ago, when the emissaries of death and shadow descended from the sky. They occupied a barely habited continent and left the Narns alone for a while. But next, the darkness of the Ancient Enemy began abducting innocent people and spreading like a cancer.

Earthbenders from every corner of Narn joined to face the threat, under the leadership of G'Quan, but their bendings proved to be useless against the black, spiky, flying vessels. The closer the earthbenders got to them, the weaker their bendings were. As if the horrendous vessels could drain the strength of their gift. All seemed lost as Narn was been slowly but surely consumed by the dark stain.

Fortunately for the natives, help came from the skies in the form of G'Lan and its followers. G'Lan went to G'Quan and conceded him the power for his bending to resist the hunger of the Ancient Enemy. Once again, G'Quan guided the other Children of G'Lan, this time shielded by its light.

The earthbenders resisted the Ancient Enemy, never surrendering. They opened cracks behind the vessels stationed on the ground and let them sink into the depths of Narn. They raised towers of rock at high speed striking those in the air. They continued tirelessly, protected by G'Lan, until the Ancient Enemy was driven of Narn.

And so the Narns celebrated their victory and returned to their lifestyle, believing never again to be bothered by evil. But they were wrong.

Eventually, the Narns moved into the stars as peaceful, curious explorers. Around 850 years later came the Centauri with their mighty warships and more advanced technology. For a hundred years, Narn was stripped bare and the Narns enslaved and put in mines, force labor camps and prisons. Chained to each other and trapped in walls of metal, there was nothing they could bend.

Until one group of Narns remembered a plain fact: metal comes from the rock. Secretly, they learn to reach onto the heart of the metal and bend not the metal itself, but its impurities. Impurities which still made it rock. Unbelievably enough, the Centauri had given to the Narns the greatest power they could ever possess: metalbending.

In a snow ball effect, the Narns resistance began from sabotaging Centauri fire-powered factories to bending whole warships into scrap-metal. Soon enough, the metalbenders came sprouting out of every corner of the planet and began the War of Independence. The Centauri, complacent and lazy at the time, weren't prepared to deal with such a revolution. Their fortresses, warships, vehicles, weapons, factories, all made of metal were virtually useless.

After 100 of occupation, the Centauri left and the Narn Regime swore to itself:

"_Never again!"_

Never again they would be enslaved and subdued to other's will. A new and more aggressive Narn Regime was born, forged by desire of revenge. With their metalbending, the Narns quickly reverse engineered Centauri left-over technology and returned to the stars with a greater empire than ever before.

Even now the Narn war-machine grew every year, fed by metal and anger.


	4. Fire - Centauri

**Puzzle of Elements**

**The Orieni-Centauri war started in 2001, I think.**

**Chapter 4: Fire – Centauri**

Like Earth and Shri-shraba, Centauri Prime gave birth two to different sentient species: the Centauri and the Xon. The Xon were tall, fast and strong humanoids. The Centauri were, on their own way, powerful: they could generate and control fire.

When the two species met, a bloody war broke out. The Xon quickly overpowered the Centauri through their brute force and vast numbers. The Centauri begged for mercy but the Xon had none to give. But then the tide turned when the Centauri got a ruthless leader: Tuscano. The greatest firebender of his age. In that time, firebender drain the energy to feed their flames from the sun. But Tuscano discovered an alternate way to make fire, hotter fire and stronger fire. By draining energy from anger, hatred and thirst for power, Tuscano and his armies slaughtered the Xon until the last one.

And so the Centauri Republic was born. Sadly for many races in the future, the Centauri learnt all the wrong lessons from this. They believed that conquering was the only way to survive. Mercy was a weakness. When less than a generation later the Shoggren invaded, Tuscano used his armies of merciless firebenders, aided by three technomages, to drive off the Shoggren. With the ships the invaders left behind, the Centauri leaped ahead in technology and reached the stars.

While many centuries passed, the fire that drove the Centauri during the Xon War still burn and it had for some time consumed some of the unfortunate races the Centauri encountered. Until they found a race that was their equal and opposite: the Orieni.

Unlike all the other races they had discovered before (with the exception of the Minbari), the Orieni were benders. While the Centauri controlled fire, the Orieni produced lightning, the cold-blooded fire. When the two races met, it was hate at first sight.

At first, the Orieni were winning the war. Their ability to create, absorb and repel lightning was handy to drain the energy of Centauri warships or to make them suffer an overvoltage.

But the later, the Centauri retaliated by learning out to reach out their minds and influence the heated nuclear reactors of the Orieni and overheat them into exploding.

And so the war continued. The Centauri were winning but they soon ran out of fire. Both sides called it a draw and returned home to repair the damage.

The disaster that was the Orieni-Centauri war was the first step for the flame of the Republic to wither. The second step was the civil war that sparked two years later.

Decades went on and the borders of the Republic shrunk as its flame dimmed more and more. The Centauri had lost their will to conquer and let their fire spread. A hope for the flame to re-ignite flashed when the Narn homeworld was seized. But quickly the hope for renascence turned out to be the opening of Pandora's Box. The Centauri occupation not only didn't conceded them an opportunity to bring their old fire back, but also created their greatest enemy.

What was worse, this enemy was the earth and rock which couldn't burn no matter how intense the fire was. And now the earth that was the Narns threatened to swallow the diminished fire that was the Centauri and put it out for good.


	5. Air - Human

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Chapter 5: Air – Human**

Air is the element of freedom, but freedom is something airbenders don't have. Two hundred years ago, Humans began to be born with aerokinetic abilities. They could stop, create and dance in the wind. They were soon called, airbenders, and were among the most peaceful Humans.

Air is the element of freedom and the Humans enjoy freedom. The airbenders wanted to detached themselves from the rules of their people and live in an isolationist peace.

But the grounded Humans didn't like that. As a race forged through a history of warfare, Humans didn't trust those who were different. They were afraid and resentful towards those who had power over them, like the airbenders had.

And so, the Air Corps was born. To keep the airbenders controlled and in line. But, Humanity would learn two hard lessons from this: one cannot contain air with chains and even the softest breeze can evolve into the most tremendous hurricane.

Lovers of freedom and peace, airbenders were forced to work as a security force against their will. While many of them accepted that, even if grudgingly, their spirits did not. Souls made to fly loathe to be restrained.

While humanity believes the airbenders are under controlled, a silent storm is growing within the Air Corps. Many Humans, benders or not, suspect of it, but none can prove it. They just hope they are not alive to see the storm erupting.


	6. Blood - Dilgar

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Bold** – Author Notes

"_Italic" – _thoughts

_Italic and centered_ – transitions

**Chapter 6: Blood – Dilgar**

The history of the Dilgar Imperium was written in blood, literally and figuratively. Omelos had given birth to one race split in three breeds: the Tall Dilgar, the Dark Dilgar and the Prime Dilgar. From the beginning, the three tribes competed for territory, food and water. Their competition was war. Warfare shaped all Dilgar and while time passed and technology continued to evolve, the war remained the same: a constant aggressive stalemate.

It was until the Earth 18th century that the Prime Dilgar developed a skill that would mark their race for ever. The ability to control the life liquid of every flesh sentient being: Bloodbending. Using their bloodthirsty but disciplined bloodbenders, the Prime Dilgar slaughtered and enslaved their cousin breeds. By the time the Dilgar reached the stars, the Tall and Dark were extinct.

But then the endless war of Omelos came to an end. What didn't came to an end was the Prime Dilgar drive for war. There were no enemies on Omelos anymore and allow their people to fall into civil war was unthinkable. The Dilgar had nowhere to go but out.

And out they went, meeting many other races like the Abbai and Drazi. To their slightly surprise, none of them could bend blood. But later they met other races like the Narns and the Centauri who could bend the earth and fire, respectively.

The Dilgar vowed to themselves to conquer all the galaxy and marked it in blood. However they had to speed up their plans, for they discovered their sun was growing instable by the decade. Hence, the Dilgar War began and their target was the League of Non-Bender Worlds.

Using their bloodbending, the Dilgar mercilessly slaughtered entire races and made experiments on their prisoners to improve their bendings. But none was as sadistic or cunning as Jha'dur, the most infamous Warmaster. Born a brilliant scientist and an average bloodbender, she was trained by Supreme Warmaster Gar'shan himself into a cold and calculating tactician and a bloodbender of rare skill. World after world fell to her and her fleet. Death walked wherever she went, earning the name 'Deathwalker'.

The Dilgar seemed unstoppable until they crossed the Markab and by doing so called the Markab's friends, a race called Humans, into the war. Unlike the League, the Humans had the gift of bending the air around them. But it wasn't that ability that gave them the power to drive the Dilgar away. It was the reason they fought. The Humans fought to defeat what they perceived as evil.

And so the Dilgar were driven back to the gates of Omelos where they were defeated and imprisoned. With the Dilgar sun going nova two years later, the entire Dilgar race went extinct and so did bloodbending.

However, one mystery of the war remains unsolved: Warmaster Jha'dur's whereabouts. When the Dilgar lost the Battle of Balos, Deathwalker's body was never found on her flagship. Some say she went to Hell, body and soul. But one thing is certain: if Warmaster Jha'dur is still alive, her people's legacy and her bending gift would not perish. Not if she has anything to say about it…

**Snapshots:**

**Season 1 – Episode Deathwalker**

Dr. Franklin was alone in the lab, analyzing the chemical brought to the station by his newest patient, a woman called Gyla Lobos, though there were many suspicions that her identity was Jha'dur aka Deathwalker, the most infamous Warmaster of the Dilgar War. Though Franklin was skeptical about it, since the Dilgar all went extinct after their sun exploded, in the aftermath of the Dilgar War.

"Amazing." – the good doctor whispered, observing the drug. Unbeknownst to him, the Dilgar patient recovered her senses. Her face twisted in fury and thirst for blood.

"How dare you pry into my life's work!?" – she roared, making Steven turn away from the microscope, surprised. All he felt next was pain as ever vein of his body began to pulse and twist. Jha'dur simply raised her head to make Steven float in mid-air.

"I'll teach you what happens to meddling vermin like you!" – she smirked, twisting Steven's wrists and knees. The xenobiologist screamed louder.

"Hold it right there!" – a new voice called out. Lyta had just showed up, along with Talia and Zack. The two airbenders quickly formed a strong wind that knocked Jha'dur out of the bed and hitting the wall.

"Now, Zack." – Lyta urged and Zack moved, ready to execute a chi-blocking on Gyla. However, the sadistic alien woman smirked:

"You have never face bloodbending like mine." – Gyla made a twitch with her head and everyone else was paralyzed.

"What…the?" – Zack uttered. – "She can bloodbend…with her mind?"

"There are many things you don't know about me." – Gyla clenched her fists increasing the pain in her four human victims.

_Later…_

Sinclair and Lennier were the only ones that remained in the council room. The League ambassadors stormed off, promising this would have consequences. G'kar and Mollari left as well.

"The Windswords sheltered her, didn't they?" – Sinclair asked without looking at the Minbari.

"Yes, the Windswords captured Jha'dur at the end of the Battle of Balos and brought her to one of our colonies." – Lennier said in a shamed whisper, not looking at the Commander.

"Did you always know?" – Sinclair finally looked at him.

"No, not at first." – Lennier looked at Sinclair. – "But when our people waged war against yours, the Windswords came to the Grey Council and demonstrated the ability to bloodbend."

"Minbari bloodbenders?" – Sinclair uttered.

"Yes. Deathwalker was, unfortunately, ingenious. She made the connection between our element and hers."

It was an open secret that all races' blood, including Minbari and Human, are mostly made out of water. Only the Vorlons were unknown on this matter.

"Water…in blood." – Sinclair sighed. Lennier nodded.

"That is how the Grey Council learned the Windswords had kept her for all those years. And like all secrets long kept, we cannot bear the shame of showing them to the Universe."

**Season 2 – Episode There All Honor Lies**

John Sheridan couldn't believe his luck. First he gets late for another of Kosh's 'lessons', next his link is stolen on his way to the Vorlon and finally he is attack by a Minbari. And he is losing! John kicked the Minbari, trying to reach for the PPG, his plasma gun, lying on the floor.

He grabbed the weapon and punched the Minbari away, aiming the PPG at him:

"Slow down, you!" – John warned but the Minbari didn't hold still. The alien moved his hands like controlling a puppet and John felt his veins twisting. John's arm with the PPG moved until the weapon was aiming to the Minbari's chest.

"You're…a bloodbender?" – John asked, stunned.

"Yes." – the Minbari answered.

"But…you're a Minbari…not a Dilgar." – John countered.

"There are many things you don't know about our element or our race, Starkiller." – the Minbari said, closing one of his fists. John's was bloodbended into pulling the trigger and shooting the Minbari on the chest, killing him.

**Tah-dah! I said in the Prologue that Minbari hadn't discovered bloodbend yet. But the Windswords learn the technique and soon enough, information leaked out and a few waterbenders of other clans learn how to bloodbend.**

**By the time of the episode **_**There all honor lies**_**, a waterbender from the Third Fane of Shudomo, Lennier's clan, learned enough to control Sheridan into shooting him.**


	7. Lightning - Orieni

**Puzzle of Elements**

** The Orieni are one of the races that don't appear on the show but still they had an important role in the Centauri history, according with 'Babylon 5: Wars'.**

**Chapter 7: Lightning – Orieni**

Rational, cold and but powerful, the Orieni were one of the fastest advancing races, advancing at the speed slightly faster than the Centauri. Unlike the Centauri, they didn't gain this from reverse-engineered alien tech but form their bending gift: Lightningbending.

On the world called Orien, around the Earth year 1000 AD, the first Lightningbenders appeared. They were seen as a breed chosen by the Gods and so were called 'The Blessed'. They were gifted to create and strike energy and thanks to their gift, electricity and machines were already spread all over Orien by the Earth year 1200.

Quickly the Orieni Empire reached the stars and met other races, all of which bowed down to the Orieni after watching their amazing bendings. They appeared to be born for this role. They acted quickly and efficiently to bring newly encountered races into the growing Empire, and incorporated the best of the locals into their subject forces or bureaucracy. Order would be brought to the universe, as the gift of the Orieni.

Only two races were the exception.

At some point the Orieni met the mystical Vorlons. Then the Blessed made an astonishing discovery: they were the product of the Vorlons' genetic tampering to aid them in a war against their old enemies called Shadows. The Orieni were stunned to realize that the Vorlons were, in fact, the Gods. Yet, inexplicably, their newly discovered deities rebuffed contact and made is painfully clear that they were to be left alone. Acceding their god's wishes, the Orieni continued as they were, secure in the knowledge that their benefactors would tell them if they were doing wrong.

Almost a century later, in 1863, the Centauri Republic was encountered and hostilities began almost at once. Centauri controlled fire while the Orieni wielded the cold-blooded fire. The Orieni found the Centauri to be almost their evil twin. The Orieni valued order and structure. The Centauri lived in Machiavellian chaos, with shifting powers and hidden schemes making life worth living. The Orieni were contemplative, the Centauri decadent. The Centauri were decentralized hedonists who ruled others because it was fun and profitable, while the Orieni were centralized puritans who ruled others out of a sense of duty.

Yet they had much in common.

Both were Empires with subject peoples held in thrall, both were expansionist, and both hated the other almost on sight. The growing cold war sparked the Orieni-Centauri war.

Both were experienced and capable in interstellar warfare, both were extremely large and potent states, both had powerful and skilled fleets of warriors, and both felt victory would inevitably be theirs.

At first the Orieni were winning. Whenever machines were involved, the Orieni always won. Against their Lightningbending, even the most advanced Centauri warship was either a toy whose batteries ran out or a system overloading with energy.

Soon enough the Centauri turned the tide with their own gift. They extended their power to influence the reactors of Orieni ships and make them explode.

What saved Orien from total destruction was the fact that the Centauri ran out of fire and called an armistice. So the war ended with no clear victor.

Even after all those decades, the Orieni don't understand how they could have failed in their holy cause to exterminate the Centauri. If they were the gifted servants of the Gods, why had they failed in their righteous quest? The war had to be necessary; why else would the Gods allow them to cause it in the first place?


	8. Energy - Vorlons

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Bold** – Author Notes

"_Italic" – _thoughts

_Italic and centered_ – transitions

**Important note: While this chapters only speaks of the Vorlons, ALL of the First Ones can Energybend, Ok? Even the Shadows can do it.**

**Chapter 8: Energy – Vorlon**

After the Primus Sapiens, Lorien's race, came into the stars, they found primitive races, most of which had just recently achieved civilization status. Some of these simple and primitive races would eventually die. But the ones that would survive would walk among the stars like giants. They would one day be called by the races that did not yet born as the First Ones.

One of these ancient races was the Vorlons. Squid-like creatures that came from the sea but eventually learned to breath and walk on land achieved sentience and founded their civilization based on one pillar: order. Like their contemporaneous, they eventually evolved from flesh into energy. And with that transcendence a new ability came: Energybending.

Like Lorien's race, the Hand, the Walkers of Sigma 957, the Kirishiac, the Torvalus and even the Shadows, the Vorlons could manipulate the main element that structured the universe and life itself.

Billions of years passed and Lorien's people went away beyond the Rim. Only the Father of the First, Lorien himself, remained behind. Inspired by their teachers, two races decided to carry on Lorien's task of helping the races the come to evolve and flourish: the Vorlons and the Shadows.

At first, there was an agreement. Both sides would respect each other's positions and ideas. However, the Vorlons soon noticed that the Shadows ideals were much more appealing. Life was a constant ever-changing battle and only the strong survived, as the law of the Universe dictated. Life was much more bonded to chaos than it was to order.

So the Vorlons began to cheat. Travelling in secret, they reach every homeworld of every newborn race and brought specimens from each one back to the Vorlon Homeworld. There, they used their Energybendings to modify the aliens, making them feel comfortable and obedient in the presence of the Vorlons.

Half-away in that project, a group of Vorlons had an idea. Why not breeding some races with the capability of bending inferior levels of energy? Matter is frozen energy and so bending matter would be the capability these races would inherit. But first, guinea pigs would need to be collected. The Vorlons started with 6 races: Humans, Narns, Centauri, Minbari, Orieni and Dilgar.

The project, however, came as a complete failure. At first, there were no results so the project was dropped off and so the Vorlons focused only on making the younger races see them as gods. Then, much to the Vorlons' shock and later dismay, the 6 races achieved their own powers.

The Minbari were the first and developed the ability to shape water, the key ingredient of life. These pleased the Vorlons since waterbending slowly made the Minbari more peaceful and united. Though in the end, it was Valen the piece responsible for the union of the clans of Minbar.

Next came the Centauri and Orieni. From the beginning, this issue made the Vorlons frown. First, the Centauri used their dominance over fire to exterminate the Xon and later the Orieni used their gift to wage a war against the Centauri.

After that, the Narns learned to control the earth under their feet. They were peaceful and used their powers to unite their people. The Vorlons were proud of the Narns and were ready to grant them rewards for their good behavior. Unfortunately, that never came to pass for the Centauri came and ruined everything. At this, the Vorlons sighed in disappointment. But the worst was yet to come.

During the Shadow war of the Earth year 1260, the Minbari were close to lose the war. The Vorlons received a signal from an unknown source. They sent their ships investigating and found to their surprise and station with a unique individual onboard: a Minbari not born of Minbari.

Through Valen, the Vorlons learnt that one of their experiment races, the Humans, would gain the ability of Airbending. And so they decided to tie together the destinies of the Humans and Minbari. They made arrangements so that the Minbari bending DNA would gradually degenerate generation after generation. And the only way to prevent that was through breeding with Humans.

A few decades before the Humans breed their first generation of airbenders, the warlike Dilgar revealed their ability to bend the life liquid of the flesh. This made the Vorlons really upset. One of their most disobedient children just received a candy they did not deserve!

In the meantime the Humans finally achieved the ability of airbending but the Vorlons were at the time more preoccupied with the Dilgar situation. To solve this problem, the Vorlons tampered with the Dilgar sun and programmed it to explode in a few years. They did this in hope to wipe out the Dilgar. To their great embarrassment, the Dilgar's eminent extinction only incentivized them to spread chaos into the League during the Dilgar War.

After the Earth Alliance drove the Dilgar off the League, their sun 'sneezed' and the bloodbending race was wiped out. Then the Vorlons finally turned their full attention to the Humans.

As far as they were concerned, almost everything was coming into place. The Orieni had learnt their lesson and remained silent behind their borders until now. The Minbari and the Humans were slowly forming bonds, though both still felt a large amount of hate towards one another. The Dilgar were exterminated like they should be. Only two lesser problems remained: the Narns and the Centauri.

One was dying for their own weakness, incapable of accepting the Vorlons superior ideology of order. From the very beginning, they had set themselves on a spiral of destruction and insatiable hunger for power. Soon or later they would fall for their own prejudice.

The other was dying as well, though not in the same way. This one had been corrupted by anger and hate along the way and not from the beginning. This one still had some chance to get back on the right track. The Narns could still be saved.

Now the Centauri…they were alone. They were a dying people. It was better to let them pass.

**Snapshots:**

**Season 1 – Episode Deathwalker**

Michael Garibaldi, Chief of Security had his best chi-blockers placed in the court room of Babylon 5. Lyta Alexander, Chief of the Air Unit Security was arranging her best airbenders, including her second-in-command, Talia Winters. The orders were to keep the place with security so tight not even an ant could get in.

"If you ask me, this is going to be nothing but trouble." – Michael confessed to her co-worker, Lyta. The airbender replied.

"You already said that when we found out our new friend was Deathwalker."

Several hours ago, Jha'dur, aka Deathwalker, the most infamous Warmaster of the Dilgar War appeared on Babylon 5. She turned out to be she was a Psychic-bloodbender. When she had Dr. Franklin, Lyta, Zack and Talia paralyzed in the Med-Lab, more Security arrived and put her to sleep with a universal sleeping dart. Later, Commander Sinclair had spoken to her. It turned out she was there to sell a serum that granted eternal life to the Earth Alliance. Even though the Narn Regime was interested in buying her serum first, she didn't reconsider.

Later, she was leaving the station on a Minbari Flyer heading to the Jumpgate. That was when a Vorlon War Cruiser appeared and smoked the flier. Kosh, the Vorlon Ambassador, had entered the Conference Room and uttered a simple and cryptic explanation:

"You are not ready for immortality."

Soon enough had been discovered that Jha'dur had survived! She injected into space in a life pod on the last minute, before her ship was destroyed. (Un)fortunately, she had left her serum, all her notes and research behind in the Flyer.

A Starfury picked her up and brought her back in. With the serum destroyed and her inability to manufacture another sample, the Narn Regime changed its mind and voted 'yes' on putting Jha'dur to trial.

"If we keep as much security as possible, even if she uses bloodbending with her mind, she won't able bloodbend us all." – Garibaldi said.

"Needless to say, our bloodbender friend isn't too happy." – Lyta said with a slight smile. She still remembered how painful it was to be bloodbended. A handcuffed Jha'dur was been escorted by two airbenders and two chi-blockers to her seat. Her looks could kill someone right there on the spot. The Ambassadors of the League of Non-Bender Worlds had already arrived and so did the G'Kar and Londo. Dellen and Sinclair were the last ones.

"Hey, look." – Lyta whispered. At the door, they could see Ambassador Kosh.

"Well, look who decided to drop in." – Garibaldi commented. The Vorlon gave them an expressionless look though his helmet and turned back, going away.

"Maybe he only came here check in." – Lyta suggested. Then everything went silent and Sinclair spoke out.

"This session begins to determine the penalty applied to Warmaster Jha'dur. The charges are the next: slavery, experiments on sentient beings, mass murder, attack without provocation on colonies, outposts and homeworlds, multiple genocide and bloodbending on sentient beings." – Sinclair speeched out. – "What does the defendant has to say in her defense?"

Every eye was posted on Jha'dur who stood up. The Dilgar's dark anger turned into a faint smirk.

"Only one word, Commander:" – she twitched her head to the left. – "Sleep!"

At this, the security in the room fainted. Before Sinclair could get to his PPG, Jha'dur paralyzed him and everyone else.

"What…trickery is this?" – Mollari groaned, struggling to break free but to no avail.

"How…How did you put the security out cold…so easily?" – Sinclair questioned. She chuckled cruelly.

"You thought I had revealed every trick I knew? By bending the blood away from the brain, I can knock down an entire army."

"You fiendish woman!" – Ambassador Kalika of the Abbai shouted.

Jha'dur made Sinclair float towards her and forced him to insert his card on the slot of the handcuffs, overriding the system. The handcuffs opened. Jha'dur did to Sinclair and the Ambassadors what she did to Security and exited the room, putting the Security she found on her way out cold.

"_My serum may be gone, but I will find another way to leave a legacy of my race to this galaxy."_ – she swore to herself. She had to get to a bay dock and leave the station on a ship as a stowaway. However, her path was blocked by a tall, broad figure: Ambassador Kosh Naranek. They were standing on a lonely corridor.

"Out of my way, Vorlon!" – she demanded.

"When the sword is rusted, it must be disposed of." - the Vorlon said, sliding towards her in a slow but steady speed.

Deathwalker made a couple of gestures trying to stop the Vorlon, but to her surprise nothing happened. She tried again, but it didn't work.

"Who…what are you?" – she asked, feeling nervous for the first time in years.

"I have always been here." – the Vorlon said, opening the helmet of his suit. Jha'dur's eyes went wide as a figure of light came upon her and touched her forehead and her shoulder. The being of light's eyes glowed brighter and so did Jha'dur's. She felt something within her been break, erased, taken away. Something that had been hers ever since she was born. When Kosh was done, he retreated back to his encounter suit and Jha'dur fell on the ground, unconscious. Soon enough hurried footsteps were heard and Security and Sinclair came.

They were astonished to see the Dilgar lying on the ground with a Vorlon standing. Kosh turned away and departed back to his quarters. He would require his rest after that Energybending session. Garibaldi and Lyta carried Jha'dur.

"Ambassador, what happened?" – Sinclair asked, though he already expecting a cryptic answer. This time, however, Kosh decided to give an explanation. Entil'zah Valen would need one in this matter.

"She's of no threat now. Her bending is gone." – the Vorlon whispered.

**Season 2 – Episode Comes the Inquisitor**

Dellen, now an airbender, walked to Kosh's quarters. Ever since she had become a Minbari-human hybrid, her waterbending was gone. From that day forth, Dellen felt incomplete, like a part of her had just died. But not anymore.

Today, an Inquisitor had come to test her whether she was ready to fight the darkness ahead. During the quiz, the man had accused her of been self-centered for thinking she was chosen and weak for believing her bending was what made her special.

During her torturous questionnaire with the Inquisitor, Captain Sheridan had come to save her. Unfortunately, the Inquisitor trapped Sheridan and began to torture him instead. The woman still remembered how the cold human was about to unleash the deathly strike on the good captain.

_Flashback:_

_ "Are you ready to die alone? Friendless? Unwanted?" – he asked to the strapped captain, continuously electrifying him._

_ "Stop!" – Dellen shouted from a corner. She was tired and disoriented from her last painful questionnaire. – "I'm the one to be tested!"_

_ "Dellen!" – Sheridan warned her._

_ "What is he to you?" – the Inquisitor persisted, torturing Sheridan even further with each word he pronounced. – "Is he an associate? An ally? A friend?"_

_ "Leave him!" – Dellen feebly made a punch like move. Against all the odds, all the expectations, a small whirlwind came out of her fist and struck down the stunned Inquisitor. Both man now looked surprised at Dellen, who stares confused at her hand._

_ "I…I can airbend?" – she asks to herself._

_End of Flashback._

The Minbari entered Kosh's quarters, taking her Minbari breather, which was much more efficient that the human version. The Vorlon turned to her.

"The Inquisitor has accepted my motives as acceptable." – Dellen said. The Vorlon simply nodded. – "But there's still so much I do not understand. If I am to unite my race and the human into this fight, how can I do it if I lost the mark of my own race?"

"The tree may grow up, but it cannot live without the roots." – Kosh said. His helmet opened and Dellen saw once again the form of Valeria. The angelic Minbari came down on her and place a hand on her shoulder and another on her forehead. Kosh's eyes lighted up even more and Dellen's passed through the same. The Human-Minbari felt an old feeling of her returning. It was like the memory of past returning, joining with the feeling of the presence, making a whole new person. When he was done, Kosh returned to his encounter suite and Dellen opened her eyes. She extended her left hand and created an orb of ever whirling air. She extended her right hand and made a sphere of moving water. She was now the complete bridge between the humans and the Minbari: a waterbender and an airbender.

**I know this was a bit short and kind of just made up in the last minute, especially the second snapshot. I may re-write this better. This was Kosh, our favorite Energybender. He took away Jha'dur's bloodbending and restored Dellen's waterbending.**


	9. League of Non-Bender Worlds

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Chapter 9: League of Non-Bender Worlds**

Ever since the Centauri came into space, they brought slavery and destruction to many worlds. With their firebending abilities and superior technology, they burned and enslaved everyone they encountered. This included the Brakiri, Balosians, Alacans and even the Vree.

In response to this, a wise race called Abbai founded the League of Non-Bender Worlds where the members would swear to join forces should the Centauri ever cross their borders.

They were called the Non-Bender Worlds for unlike the determined Narns, the aggressive Dilgar or the ancient Minbari, they relied on their apparent union to convince the Centauri to leave them alone.

But one truth that nobody knew was that the League was also founded on jealousy. The League was often pushed around by the major powers. The most notorious example of this was the Dilgar War, when the bloodbenders came and destroyed entire worlds.

The Abbai, who loved the ocean and were made to dwell in the water, craved for learning to waterbend but fate had denied them that gift. They held a secret resentment towards the Minbari for wielding that power.

The Drazi were true warriors. They craved for the fire of battle any time. The way they see, those who wield the fire should be the greatest warriors only. And, when they first went into space, to their great surprise, the race that controlled the flame were the spineless Centauri. The Drazi considered the Centauri unworthy of the flaming gift that should be theirs only! And so they unleashed that anger on the firebending race on every opportunity they have.

The Llort and the Balosians are both species whose ancestors dwelled underground. And while nowadays their cities were all on the surface, they both still felt a loving fondness for the entrails of the soil. One would expect the earthbending race would be one or even both of them. But no, instead of them, it were the Narns. For that, both races groaned just to hear the name of the Narns. The Balosians went as far as to 'like' the Centauri just to spite the earthbender aliens.

The Cascan and the Krish had for a long time worshiped the skies. The Cascans flew the best fighters in the galaxy, so in love with the art of flying they were. The Krish were a bird race that traded the ability to fly for sentience, much to their slight annoyance. When they heard that a race much similar to the hated Centauri could control the air around them, they had to see for themselves. What they saw left them horrified and disgusted: a race with a violent story of warfare was granted to purest of offerings! Outraged, both species declined any contact with Earth and after the Humans saved them from the Dilgar, they still haven't changed their minds.

The Markab never went through the Earth medieval age which silenced the technological advancement. They were already travelling among the stars during the time of Valen. They were just like the Orieni, old, powerful and religious to the core. They only had one difference: the Markab never launched a war of aggression. To the Markab great stun, the Orieni attacked the Centauri for no reason. Seeing their religious colleagues displaying such an attack of savagery, they questioned themselves: why had the Orieni, who proved to be warlike barbarians, been granted the gift of lightningbending, while the Markab, noble servants of the Great Maker, not received anything? And so the Markab prayed for answers. None came so they prayed more and more, often cursing the name of the Orieni as part of their prayers.

**Snapshots:**

**Season 1 – Episode Deathwalker**

"No! No more compromises!" – the Abbai Ambassador Kalika snapped at Sinclair. – "We will no longer be dictated by the very powers who aided this woman! You haven't heard the last of us!"

With that, she stormed off the room followed by her League ambassador colleagues. They all had done nothing to give Jha'dur the justice she deserved.

When Babylon 5 was built, all the major powers got a place for an ambassador. The League of Non-Bender Worlds, however, was added as a single voice rather than every League member have its own independent voice. It was an open secret the major powers did this on purpose to keep the League on a leash.

But no more! The League had suffered at the hands of the Dilgar who butchered them. And now they suffered at the hands of the other powers who suffocated them. No more.

"No more!" – Kalika whispered when she entered her quarters, ready to inform her government of this outrages offense.

**The League is not a bunch of envious jerks, per se. They simply feel vulnerable because the Centauri firebenders scare them and the Dilgar bloodbenders slaughtered them. This made them very wary of the bending races and sometimes, when fear doesn't evolve into terror, it morphs into distrust and jealousy.**


	10. Season 1 - Midnight on the Firing Line

**Puzzle of Elements**

**Bold** – Author Notes

"_Italic" – _thoughts or communications

_Italic and centered_ – transitions

**Chapter 10: Season 1 – Midnight on the Firing Line**

_Sector 156, Ragesh III, Centauri Agricultural Colony, 1000 Hours Earth Standard Time…_

The octahedron station orbited peacefully around the 5000-colonists-inhabitated colony. Along with the station's basic defense grid, dozens of mines were stationed, consisting in a poor defense system.

In the Control and Command Dome of the station, Carn Mollari looked briefly on the outside. Many times he had wished he could join the Military and fly in a Fighter, in service to the Centauri Republic. The young Centauri man was placed in his current position as Head Researcher in Ragesh III courtesy of his uncle, Londo Mollari, a firebender like himself.

But his true love was serving the fire of the Centauri Republic. The flame was marked in his race's blood and flesh. He would give anything to help the now extinguishing flame of his people to burn proudly once again, like an eternal giant comet incinerating everything in its path.

His thoughts were interrupted by one of his subordinates warning:

"Sir, we're picking up disturbance" – Carn approached the man and examined the panel.

"Location?" – he questioned.

"Trying to get a fix." – the man replied. – "Jump point opening in Sector 3."

From the blue vortex two massive ships never seen before came out, accompanied by hundreds of fighters. The menacing size of the two giant vessels was what set Carn to react.

"Activate mines!" – he ordered, but the next words he heard left him even more nervous.

"Sir, the mines are not responding!"

"What?!" – Carn roared.

"Sir, it appears the mines are …imploding?" – the official said, confused by his own words. Carn looked at the panel and he saw for himself. The mines around the planet and the station were twisting and contracting, like been sucked from the inside out.

"They're not imploding…That's metalbending! It's the Narns!" – Carn exclaimed.

"But sir, no ship was within 1 standard km of the mines when they were _bent_. The Narns can't metalbend at such great distance." – one of the officials countered. Carn gave another look at the ships and he recognized the fighters. Those were Narn heavy fighters. – "There's no doubt, it's the Narns! Activate defense grid!"

"Defense grid not responding either, sir. They're metalbending it, too! And worst, they're boarding us!"

"Great Maker!" – Carn said more like a curse than a prayer. – "Notify Centauri Prime! Tell them we're under attack! Tell them it's the-"

The lights went out and everything in the dome became dark, except for the dim light proportioned by the stars outside.

"Sir, they cut the power out. Last I checked, intruders were coming this way." – one of the Centauri urged. Soon enough, they heard the sound of metal cracking and they knew the door was been metalbent from the outside.

"Firebenders, join me." – Carn commanded and the few firebenders in the room stayed by his side, while the non-bender Centauri remained behind. Carn clenched his fists, preparing for the fight ahead. The door was finally cracked opened and Carn called out:

"Fire!" – Carn and his firebending crew unleashed their flames against the intruders. But to no avail, when the fire ceased, the Narns were untouched. They were wearing armors that were a mix of earth and metal which shielded them from the flames.

Carn stood against a Narn. The Centauri used a firing kick, but it didn't even marked the armor. The Narn metalbended a cable shot from a gauntlet in his armor. The cable wrapped around Carn hands, but before he could do anything, electricity from the cable shocked him and the firebender fell unconscious.

_Sector Epsilon, Neutral Territory, Babylon 5 Earth Alliance Station, 1330 Hours Earth Standard Time_

The news about the attack through the station like wild fire. And speaking of fire, Londo Mollari was on fire. Literally, for the anger consuming him was erupting flames his fingertips. He took another sip of his drink, hoping the Brivari would make the bitterness and rage go away.

_Flashback…_

One hour ago, Londo and his attaché, Vir Cotto, had just received a message from Centauri Prime: a recording of the attack which allowed them to identify the invaders as the Narn Regime. In less than a minute, Londo went to the Zocalo, looking for G'Kar, the Narn Earthbender Ambassador.

When the attack was announced to the council, G'Kar denied knowing anything about it. He had lied when it was his government who launched the attack. But then, Londo was decided to make sure the Narn would burn…

"G'Kar!" – Londo had called out when he found his target. The Earthbender was eating something at a bar in the Zocalo.

"Ah, Ambassador Mollari! Care to join me?" – G'Kar offered a bowl with some fresh spoo to the Centauri. Londo pointed at the offering with a finger and the food was set on fire.

"You bastards! Don't you think you will get away with this!" – Londo growled.

"I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for the attack." – G'Kar said in an passionless tone, which only aggravated Londo even more.

"What reasonable explanation could be to slaughter innocent civilians?" – Londo dared G'Kar to answer.

"Curious. We wondered the same thing when your race invaded our world." – G'Kar replied with a taunting smile. That had done it!

"You pig!" – Londo roared and fired a fire-fist against the Narn. Fortunately for G'Kar his leather and metallic clothing protecting from the fire. G'Kar stood back and bent the metal of the floor, trapping Londo by his feet. But before the fight could escalate, both benders felt some quick punches on certain points of their bodies.

"_Darn chi-blockers!"_ – Londo growled in his mind, seeing that Security Chi-blockers had arrived. He knew that both his and G'Kar's bendings were out of commission, for the time being.

"Go back to your quarters, both of you." – said Security Chief Micheal Garibaldi, right at Londo's side. So it was Garibaldi who had just chi-blocked him…

After that incident, Londo was back on his quarters. The Commander of Babylon 5, Jeffrey Sinclair was paying him a visit, because of Londo's little _chat_ with G'Kar.

"I apologize for my incident with G'Kar, Commander Sinclair. I will not repeat it…It's just that Carn…" – Londo sighed, after seeing the inquiring look on Sinclair's face. – "Carn is my nephew. He wanted to join the Military. I told him it was a waste of his talents. Truth be told; I was scared for him. So I personally arranged him a higher position as Station commander on Ragesh III. And now, my effort to save his life may have killed him."

Sinclair gave his condolences to Londo and assured him that they would call for a meeting of the council and the League of Non-Bender Worlds to force the Narns to leave their territory. Nevertheless, Sinclair insisted this should be done in the peaceful way.

"Believe as you which Commander, but earth and fire don't mix. Either the dirt covers the fire and extinguishes it, or the fire is too intense and scourged the land." – Londo replied.

"Ambassador, there are other ways, and your two people might still come to an understanding. Babylon 5 is here to keep the peace." – Sinclair said in a cordial tone, but Londo always saw Babylon 5 and its effort to peace as a joke and a fantasy.

"Commander Sinclair, you're a smart man. You know that when fire is set, it must burn." – Londo replied with a hint of pride. He then recalled something else.

"Although there's something that bothers me. According with the message my government sent me, the Narns managed to metalbend the mines and the station itself from a great distance. They shouldn't be able to do that." – Londo confessed. This caught Sinclair's interest.

"Maybe they have been training their benders for this." – Sinclair suggested. – "On any rate, the emergency session will be in one hour."

With that Sinclair left. A while later, Londo received a message.

_End of Flashback_

"Ambassador!" – Vir entered Londo's quarters in a hurry.

"What is it, Vir?" – Londo questioned, annoyed with the noise. The hangover was kicking in.

"The emergency session! The council meeting!"

"The Council can go to hell! And the emergency session can go to hell!" – Londo said in a hoarse voice, while VIr helped him get up. – "And you, you can go to hell, too. I didn't want you to feel left out!"

"Ambassador why are you doing this?" – Vir asked to his ricking of alcohol employer.

"Because I finally got word from our esteemed leaders. Guess what those genetic rejects decided to do about Ragesh III." – Londo growled with a somewhat crazy smirk. – "After great consideration, the mighty Centauri Republic, the Flame of the Galaxy, will do nothing!"

"But why?" – Vir asked confused.

"Because Ragesh III is too far away, too small, too unimportant to risk a confrontation. And besides, by the time our ships got there" – at this point, Londo's anger become anguish. – "everyone would be dead anyways."

Londo gripped the half-empty bottle of Brivari and looked at the wall. Vir followed his line of sight and understood what the ambassador was thinking.

"Londo, no…" – Vir begged, but Londo threw the bottle at the wall and fired a fire-fist, making the bottle explode before it touched the wall, spreading sharps of burned glass all over.

"Watch it, Londo! I'm not a firebender." – Vir yelped.

_Meanwhile, in the CNC…_

"Danmit! I'll grab a Fighter and go there." – Garibaldi said, leaving the CNC. Babylon 5 had just received a stress signal from a trading Earth Alliance ship, been attacked by Raiders. But the signal was lost and Garibaldi was going to check it out. Susan Ivanova remained in the CNC, monitoring the situation.

As he left, a red-haired human woman entered. She was wearing a red and dark yellow uniform, with a badge of the Air Corps. The newcomer was an airbender. Her face was calm and monotonous, but her held strength of personality.

"Lieutenant-Commander Ivanova?" – the woman asked.

"Yes?" – Susan replied, becoming suddenly weary when she spotted the airbender badge.

"Lyta Alexander, licensed Security Airbender. Air Corps rating A5." – the airbender introduced herself. – "I was assigned to Babylon5 a couple weeks ago as Chief of the Air Unit Security."

Susan quickly turned her attention back to the CNC, avoiding eye contact with Lyta.

"Tell Fighter Jax to stand by. I want those ships ready to launch."

"Air Corps' regulation requires me to log in with the second-in-command, before meeting the Chief of Security." – Lyta continued. – "I've tried to reach you three times, but I guess you've been busy. I figured I should try the direct approach."

"Your diligence is commendable. Anything else?" – Susan replied coldly.

"No, I…" – Lyta uttered, awkwardly.

"Then, you'll excuse me, but I'm in the middle of 15 things. All of them annoying." – Susan muttered. Lyta understood the message; the Lt. Commander was one of those who didn't trust airbenders. It wasn't the first time Lyta Alexander came across one. With that, the airbender left the CNC.

_Hours later…_

Susan Ivanova was walking through the corridor of the Zocalo, partly distracted. She didn't usually allow herself to go distracted. But so many people talking and walking and breathing made the air dance around her and everything else. A part of her being, her latent airbending, wanted to feel the air moving and circling, like swimming in a dream.

The sight of Michael Garibaldi swallowing whole pieces of food in a bar caught her attention. The man was off duty and she needed to have a personal talk about his findings. Garibaldi had left hours before to go investigate on the trade ship that was attacked by Raiders. When he and his escort found it, everyone was already dead, anyways. The ship apparently had some _unusual _damage, according to the man's report.

"You're eating like a starving man." – she said.

"Seen dead has a way of doing it. There were 15 bodies on that ship. Talk about double trouble: war of Ragesh III and Raiders on this sector." – Garibaldi spoke, though his mouth was half-full.

"What about the damage on that ship?"

"That's the weird thing. Look at this." – Garibaldi showed his a picture of the trading ship. Susan expected a scourged hull or wrecked engines. What she didn't expect was to see the ship intact save for the engines which seemed to have been twisted and maimed beyond recognition into an amalgam of metal.

"What did they do to the engines?" – Susan asked.

"Beats me. These parttern look like something or _someone_ reached out and bent the engines." – Garibaldi said with a meaningful look.

"Hold on, you're saying the Narns have something to do with this?" – Susan said. Commander Sinclair told her that Ambassador Mollari had mentioned the defenses of Ragesh III had been metalbent.

"Don't know, but I'm gonna find out."

_Back with Londo…_

It was decided. _He_ was decided. Londo was going to kill G'Kar. Earlier, after Londo's unleashed his anger on the bottle of Brivari, he had an idea; he ordered Vir to not tell a thing. If they got the other worlds to help him sanction the Narns, that would force his government to help.

That hope was short-lived as G'Kar showed the council a video of Carn, his nephew, claiming they had asked the Narn Regime to 'liberate' their colony. What's more, G'Kar revealed to the whole council about Londo's lie of omission.

"This council should not be used for your personal vendettas." – the thrice-damned Narn had said with a smug smile.

"_Well, he won't be smiling for much longer._" – Londo thought. The firenbender took a syringe hidden in one of his statues of the goddess Ti. The syringe contained a drug that his race had manufactured 30 years ago, for military purposes. The drug gave a firebender the ability to make things explode at distance, for 30 minutes. Of course, for that, the firebender which took the drug would consume large quantities of oxygen around them during those 30 minutes.

"When fire is set, it must burn. One who lays too much wood on a fire and lets it spread out of control, may have to deal with a wildfire." – Londo whispered an old Centauri line of poetry, injecting himself with the drug on his neck **(A.N.: Centauri don't have major arteries on their wrists)**. G'Kar would soon learn what that saying meant. Londo immediately began feelling the power. His flame felt like it was going to burst out of his body. But Londo managed to focus on the objective: find G'Kar and watch him explode.

One his way there, heading to the transport tube, Londo collided with Lyta Alexander.

"Pardon, lady." – Londo replied, not smilling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ambassador." – Lyta apologized. Then she felt something; as an airbender, she could literally feel the air around her. But now, the air was been consumed, like there was a wildfire in the place. All the air was been consumed by…Ambassador Mollari!

Lyta finally remembered; when she was training in the Air Corps, she learnt the feeling of the air been devoured by a Centauri when their flame is going overdrive.

"Ambassador!" – Lyta called but Londo had already entered the tube. Lyta talked through her link.

"Mr. Garibaldi, we have a problem."

Londo kept walking on the corridor of green sector. At the first sight of G'Kar, Londo would use his temporarily doping bending to kill him, even though the firebender knew he would be most certainly arrested and maybe even killed.

"Londo!" – a voice he well recognized as Garibaldi's. And he wasn't alone. Talia Winters, member of the Air Unti Security was with him.

"Not so fast, Londo." – Garibaldi said.

"Mr. Garibaldi, I don't have time to chat. I have to go." – Londo dismissed.

"Go where?" – Garibaldi asked, not batting an eye.

"Mr. Garibaldi, get out of my way." – Londo snapped, his enhanced flame causing his finger to fire up.

"Oh, no you won't." – Talia waved with her hand, and the fire in Londo's fist was extinguished. She had airbended the oxygen away from the Centauri's hand, leaving the fire with no fuel.

"Don't make me chi-block you a second time, today." – Garibaldi warned.

"He's my blood, my nephew!" – Londo protested. – "You don't understand."

"I understand better than you'll ever know. I know it burns, Londo. I know you want G'Kar to burn for it, but this isn't the way. If you kill G'Kar, none of those colonists are getting out of that mess alive." – Garibaldi warned. – "Now go back to your quarters."

Londo reluctantly agreed. Deep down he always knew Garibaldi was right. But the fire within him had been set because of this tragedy. And once set, it had to consume until it burned itself out. Before the Centauri left, Garibaldi said:

"And Londo, I'll check your quarters in 1 hour, for any _illegal stuff_. Make sure I don't find anything." – Garibaldi said. With that, Londo left for his quarters.

"Wouldn't be better to escort to his quarters, just in case?" – Talia asked.

"No need." – Garibaldi replied. – "I know we can trust Londo won't do something stupid on this one. Good thing Lyta tipped us off."

"Yeah, she always had the habit of finding out things she shouldn't know." – Talia elucidated.

"Is that so?" – Garibaldi asked, walking with Talia.

"Yes, we met in the Air Corps, during our training years. I think she's gonna adjust Babylon 5 just fine." – the airbender said.

"Well, on other matter, would you like to come by my quarters at 20:30, so see my favorite thing in the whole Universe?" – Garibaldi invited with a grin. Talia rolled her eyes; this wasn't the first _invitation_ Garibaldi made to her.

"Go ask ambassador Dellen." – Talia spoke with an obvious hint of sarcasm. But not obvious enough for Michael Garibaldi.

"_Hum…I might do just that."_ – the Chief of Security thought.

_Later, in the Commander's office…_

Ambassador G'Kar had been called to solve a certain problem, though Lt. Commander Ivanova had been very mum on that matter.

"I understand there is a problem." – he said to Ivanova.

"Indeed there is a problem, Ambassador. You are." - was her reply. – "As you have heard, the Raiders have been very active in this area, lately. The ships they attacked weren't damaged from fire weapons. Those ships had their engines bent."

"Yes, so I've heard." – G'Kar replied neutrally.

"Well, have you heard about, Ambassador?" – Commander Sinclair just came in accompanied by Garibaldi who had another Narn restrained. Upon seeing G'Kar, the Narn fell on his knees and begged for forgiveness for his failure. G'Kar silenced him with a stern order.

"We interrogated your friend here. He confessed Raiders have been working for the Narn Regime as mercenaries and privateers for quite some time." – Sinclair said. – "And in return, you supplied them with highly trained metalbenders to help them on their personal raids. We could tell the damaged trade ships had been metalbent, we just couldn't prove it."

"We also got our hands on some data crystals. They have information confirming this deal between your people and the raiders. Also some other details like the fact that the 'liberation' of Ragesh III was not invited and that you fired the first shot." – Garibaldi showed him the data crystals to which G'Kar gave a cold glare.

"Seems to me that you have a choice: tell your voices to pull out or we'll bring these evidences to the council. Lose your newly-conquered planet our lose face to every other race on the galaxy and eventually lose your newly-conquered planet. Do not pass go, do not collect $200." – Sinclair said with a smirk. In a no-win situation like this, he knew what G'Kar would choose.

_Later..._

"_What is that thing?" – Sokka asked._

_ "This is Appa, my flying bison." – Aang replied._

_ "Right." – Sokka answered with obvious sarcasm. – "And this is Katara, my flying sister."_

_ Appa sneezed and Sokka ended up covered in green snot._

Garibaldi burst out laughing, eating a handful of popcorn. Ambassador Dellen was with him, watching the show of _Avatar: The Last Airbender_. So far, she was having trouble following it.

"So, the girl is human and a waterbender?" – Dellen questioned, confused.

"Yeah, in this show, there are humans with all four bendings." – Garibaldi explained. – "The bald kid, Aang, is the last airbender. Man, I love this thing."

"Does this mean that once there were humans who could bend earth, fire and water?" – Dellen asked, curious.

"Nope. This is just someone's imagination. Like a legend." – Garibaldi improvised.

_With Susan…_

"_And Luis Santiago is re-elected as President of the Earth Alliance!" _– the ISN's reporters announced. Susan was in a bar, in the Zocalo, watching the news.

"Water." – someone asked, sitting right next to her. Susan didn't need to around. She knew it was Lyta by sensing her airbending spirit. Before Lyta could talk to her, Susan turned to the active airbender.

"I'm sorry about how I acted towards you before." – Susan apologized in a monotonous tone.

"No problem. I thought I was the one who did something wrong." – Lyta said.

"It's not about what you did, or what you are. It's about what you represent." – Susan said, with sadness in her eyes. – "My mother was like you; an airbender. The Air Corps caught her in her 35th birthday. She didn't want to go to prison, didn't want to join the Corps. So they gave her the treatment to suppress her airbending."

"It is the law. Unregistered airbenders have to be controlled to protect everyone's privacy." – Lyta replied. Susan looked her straight in the eyes.

"Have you ever seen the results? Every week, for 10 years, a man came to give her the treatment. The injections were strong, very strong. They took the wind and the life away from her. All we could do was watch as she drifted further and further away from us. Until she couldn't take it anymore, she took her own life." – when Susan finished, she took another sip of her drink.

"I'm sorry." – Lyta said, honestly.

"Don't be. You're as much of a victim as my mother was." – Susan confessed.

"I don't feel like a victim." – Lyta replied.

"Yeah, and I can't tell whether that's good or bad." – Susan said, leaving the bar.

**And it is done! This is probably the only episode I will post. I hope this inspires many readers. Sorry that Commander Sinclair didn't get much involved, but since he isn't a bender. **


End file.
